TWO CYCLADIC POTTERY PYXIDES

For similar cylindrical pyxides with incised decoration, see J. Thimme ed., Art and Culture of the Cyclades in the Third Millennium B.C., Chicago and London, 1977, pp. 109-110 and 347-348, nos 388-391. Incised patterns on a burnished coarse clay were the most common form of decoration in Early Cycladic or Grotta-Pelos culture, sometimes enhanced by a white chalk-like filling. Pyxides were essentially lidded boxes, used for storing precious objects or cosmetics.